Afghanistan pledges commitment to WCO Arusha Convention

Afghan Finance Minister Eklil Hakimi signed the commitment letter for the Arusha Convention of World Customs Organization (WCO) on Sunday in the presence of Kunio Mikuriya-Seretary General of the and Kazunari IGARASHI- Head of WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Office for Capacity Building.

The Arusha Convention of the WCO, signed in Arusha, Tanzania, on July 7, 1993, aims at promoting good governance at border crossing, improving the security of land transportation and facilitating international transport by road and rail in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) region.

“Accession of Afghanistan to the Arusha Convention will help us to strengthen the infrastructures and human resources capacity in customs department to develop the economy in addition to collecting national revenue. And this is the only good tool that will promote economic development, employment and trade with the regional countries,” Finance Minister Eklil Hakimi was quoted as saying during the signing of commitment to the convention.

He added that a skilled and committed Afghan as technical attaché of customs would soon be introduced to WCO for further consolation with this organization.

“The WCO is as house of the world customs departments and we are interested in sharing our experiences with Afghanistan in the modernizing customs in Afghanistan, capacity building and better management of customs,” Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the WCO was quoted in the statement as saying.

The WCO is internationally acknowledged as the global centre of customs expertise and plays a leading role in the discussion, development, promotion and implementation of modern customs systems and procedures. It is responsive to the needs of its members and its strategic environment, and its instruments and best-practice approaches are recognized as the basis for sound customs administration throughout the world.

Afghanistan accessed WCO membership in 2004 in a bid to benefit from its technical supports.